final project
breezy
San Antonio, Texas
Table of Contents
Cover Page……………………………………………………………………………………..1
Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………………....2
Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………………4
Marketing Research……………………………………………………………………………6
Market Details………………………………………………………………………………....8
References……………………………………………………………………………………..10
On June 13, 1691, San Antonio, Texas was founded by a group of Spanish Catholics who wanted to set up a missionary. That missionary would later be known as the historically famous, Alamo. The population of San Antonio today is 1,409,019, and it is one of the top 10 largest cities in the United States that has a population that is continuously increasing. The climate in the area of San Antonio is considered a transitional humid subtropical climate. This mainly means that the weather is comfortably warm in the winter months and hot in the summer while rainy in the fall and spring. Mid to late March is the time of year in which we are focusing on attracting more tourists to the area. During this time the temperature is approximately 75 degrees and tends to have more rain than usual. Due to the rain, often the rates of tourists that come to the area is lower than other times of the year. The prevalent rain in the San Antonio area plays a rather crucial role in their tourism industry because in September 1921, the San Antonio River flooded killing 50 people, which then prompted the city to create dams so that they could better control the excess water in the fall and spring months. Mainly this is crucial in their tourism industry due to the fact that the dam helped develop the River Walk. The River Walk is 1.3 miles of waterfront area that cuts through the heart of downtown San Antonio and has been a major tourist attraction there since 1981. This portion of the river is lined with shops, restaurants, food stands, entertainment areas, bars, nightclubs, and much more that attract those of all ages to the area. As briefly mentioned previously, the historic Alamo as well as other missions are also located in the center of San Antonio. Due to the great historic significance of the Alamo, it often attracts those tourists who are interested in learning about the culture and history of destinations and greatly defines the atmosphere of the city and surrounding area.
Since San Antonio attracts so many different kinds of tourists, we decided that it would be best to narrow it down to one particular market that often is overlooked in the area. It was decided that our group would target college students going on spring break looking for a warm escape from their typical lives. To target these spring breakers we have narrowed down what it is that exactly attracts the usual college student somewhere for spring break. After careful consideration we decided that warm weather, inexpensiveness, the proximity to areas in which spring breakers can meet other spring breakers such as bars and clubs, and then finally the availability of alcohol and entertainment in the area. First, we located a few popular bars and hotels and decided that we could form a partnership in order to create and host the first annual San Antonio TexasFest. TexasFest will be a large party along the River Walk and will be a duration of four days when held over a couple of different weekends in March. TexasFest will be held during three different weekends; March 12-15, 19-22, and 26-29. What we hope this will do is bring a Thursday thru Sunday party crowd, for college spring breakers or people in their early twenties who want to have a good time, but want to do something more unique than go somewhere such as Panama City Beach. TexasFest will have many DJ’s and multiple other forms of live music to entertain the tourists along River Walk and in the surrounding area of downtown San Antonio. The River Walk will also be a very convenient location for the event due to fact that there is no open container law there. This particular type of an atmosphere is very sought after when targeting a younger party crowd obviously due to the fact that there are not as many policies and regulations to worry about when planning. Some of the businesses that we will be partnering up with are the Hotel Valencia, Drury Plaza Hotel, and Mokara Hotel, these are the hotels that we will be working with to create multiple deals for students to buy one hotel room and get another one free. The reason for this is because when students go on spring break they typically travel with friends so we decided this would be the most effective way we could market this to spring breakers. Another aspect that will make TexasFest superior to many of the other spring break locations is the uniquely authentic cuisine. Often times when college students go to the beach for spring break they have to either purchase groceries and cook for the duration of the vacation or have to pay a rather large sum of money to eat out at restaurants in the area. TexasFest, on the other hand, has come up with a convenient single fee for the entire weekend that includes not only the cost of the lodging, an option each day for one entertainment venue or activity, and 2 meals each day along the River Walk. The meals are going to be provided through a diverse variety of restaurants such as Barriba Cantina, Biergarten, Big Apple Bagels, County Line, MadDog’s British Pub, Republic of Texas Restaurant, River Walk Mexican Food, River Walk Sports Bar, and the Hard Rock Café. These restaurants will all be sponsors of the festival as TexasFest is, in turn, providing them with much more business during the off season than usual. TexasFest guests will be distinguished from regular tourists due to the electronic wristbands they will be wearing similar to Disney’s Magicbands. These wristbands will act as the guests hotel access, credit card, and also meal plan. For example, representatives at the restaurants will scan them in order for the guest to receive their meal. These electronic bands will additionally aid in safety at the events as they are connected to one’s name, lodging location, credit card, etc. If anything were to happen to one of the guests at the event in which they could not speak for themselves, one could scan their band and know who the person is and be able to contact their emergency contacts if such a situation were to occur. It will also keep unwanted visitors out of the hotels and overall provides a sense of convenience to the college students we are targeting. Additionally, during the festival one way we will encourage bars and restaurants to market themselves are by having special promotions on alcoholic drinks for TexasFest guests such as happy hours, specials, theme nights, etc. These type of promotions are very popular with college students and will really assist in promoting and boosting the local economy.
The main reason for the festival being broken into four day segments throughout March are so that various students from all over are able to experience TexasFest if their breaks are during different weeks. Also, many breaks are about a week long but due to the fact that many college students are on a budget it makes them less likely to stay for the entire week because of money. With the event being broke up into three four day affairs it will hopefully maximize the amount of students able to attend. Additionally, because of the short duration of the events the guests will be more likely to spend more money more quickly and budget less than if they were staying someplace for an entire week therefore benefitting the economy. The packages will start at $500 including airfare (to SAT), their individual lodging, 2 meals a day, and one entertainment event per day. Now for the most important part, how will we market this to the particular segment market we want? There are many different ways that we could do this, one of the ways that we have decided would be effective would be through various forms of social media. For example making Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram accounts to promote the festival and destination. It has also been decided that we will work in partnership with widely-followed accounts on these forms of social media such as Total Frat Move, Total Sorority Move, and other college focused accounts. Through these accounts we will advertise special promotions going on, post images of the beautiful city of San Antonio and it’s attractions, and explain TexasFest in full as well as the inclusivity of the packages we are offering. In addition to utilizing social media we will hire representatives from major universities to post fliers around campuses and act as a liaison between their peers and TexasFest. By adequately promoting the festival and getting the word out there about how unique and attainable it is for a college spring break we will successfully raise the grand total of tourists to San Antonio per year. The main points that our liaisons and marketing team will focus on is that San Antonio and TexasFest is going to be a realistic spring break in which college students will be able to spend time partying with their friends in a warm climate where they can also socialize with other students from all over the country. A bonus way we can market the festival is through other area attractions. For example, if one would like to take a break from the event or come prior to or stay longer in San Antonio, the Alamo is just down the street which is a popular tourist destination for any American. Another activity that one could do is go to a San Antonio Spurs Game (2014 NBA Champions) which would definitely attract and encourage many sport lovers. San Antonio is also very known for when it comes to family tourist attractions such as amusement parks. Nearby parks include Six Flags, in Fiesta Texas which is located about 25 minutes from Downtown San Antonio, or SeaWorld San Antonio that is sure to be a great attraction for anyone. In case it is too hot for amusement parks, there is always the option of Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort (the most popular water park in the world). Schlitterbahn is the only water pater park with a loop slide, and is also one of the biggest in the world (VisitSanAntonio.com). These are places that will also have discounted prices for people attending the festival so that we can market not only the heart of San Antonio, but the surrounding area.
The competition that the festival and San Antonio will have in March are mainly cities that have a similar set up to San Antonio or even just places that have events like TexasFest generally around the same time of year. These locations include South Padre Island, Texas, Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, Little Sugar Creek Greenway in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland. All of these cities have similar layouts to San Antonio and the River Walk, except for South Padre Island which only compares because it is a very popular spring break destination along the ocean. New Orleans is the next largest competitor because of the type of market they attract through their historic aspects and party atmosphere. New Orleans’ Bourbon Street also does not have the open container law which supports their motto “The Big Easy.” Also, with New Orleans having a specific theme of French and Cajun, it competes with San Antonio’s Mexican-American theme as well. San Antonio is approximately an 8 hour car ride from New Orleans, due to the proximity of the two they may fight for the midwest spring breakers. A city such as Charlotte, North Carolina is also large competition, just due to the fact that it is already considered one of the number one destinations here in the United States. Having Little Sugar Creek Greenway, gives them a bigger advantage, and Charlotte has the biggest market differentiation because it attracts all kinds of tourists. san Antonio is typically warmer than Charlotte at this time of year which will be a huge advantage for us. The next city that may be in competition with San Antonio is Baltimore Maryland, with it’s Inner Harbor, this is definitely competition because it’s the same kind of set up with having restaurants, and bars on the water, just like in San Antonio. Even though this is the most far away from San Antonio, I feel like this the most similar for the reason of having bars, and restaurants on the water. With competition like this San Antonio has to really stand out, and one thing that will assist a lot is word of mouth advertising. People who visit San Antonio have a better outlook on the city after visiting and will be able to effectively illustrate to others that they had a blast while visiting.
Statistics show that the city of San Antonio hosts around 30,000,000 visitors per year, which is predominantly to come and visit attractions like the Alamo, as well as other historical sites in the area. We hope that through TexasFest the type of segment market that we will attract is a younger generation that is at least 18 years of age but not older than 25 years of age. Overall, through our segmentation for the event and promotions we are offering in San Antonio TexasFest should successfully attract women and men alike to the area in which the majority is enrolled in college and on attending during their spring break.
Works Cited
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/san-antonio-tx/78205/march-weather/351198
http://visitsanantonio.com/english/Home
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio_River_Walk
http://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com/directory/category/nightlife